


Skinship

by RannieCRL



Category: SK8 the Infinity (Anime)
Genre: (background) Joecherry, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Boys In Love, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Getting Together, Idiots in Love, M/M, Not Beta Read, Pre-Relationship, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Teenage Dorks, physical affection
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-19 05:20:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29745582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RannieCRL/pseuds/RannieCRL
Summary: Kyan Reki has never thought the way he touches people would be such a big problem, so he decides to do something about it.Hasegawa Langa is confused why his best friend suddenly stops touching him.Everyone else is amused to no end and wants to see how long it will take for the two idiots to realize this skinship they share is only reserved for one another.
Relationships: Hasegawa Langa/Kyan Reki
Comments: 78
Kudos: 665





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fanfic I have ever written in my life, so please be gentle. 
> 
> Not beta-read, please excuse the grammar and spelling mistakes. 
> 
> Canon-divergent, where S race still exists, Adam and his crazy skateboard routine do not.
> 
> Comments and friendly critics are welcome, I hope I can convey what's in my mind successfully through my writing.

**Skinship** : _a term to describe intimate, non-sexual physical contact between two people, commonly used in Asian countries such as South Korea and Japan._

* * *

Kyan Reki is familiar with physical contacts, as familiar as it is to the rice he eats every day.

Coming from a large family, being the eldest son with many little sisters, Reki grew up surrounded with hugs, touches, and kisses. To him, physical contacts are a sign of love and affection. Even the pull of hair and toothy bites from the occasional sibling fights are somewhat reassuring.

That is why when Miya looks at how he is leaning against Langa’s shoulder while taking a sip of water and says “aren’t you two a little too close?”, Reki is a little shocked by his question.

“What do you mean ‘too close’?”

“Well, it seems like whenever the two of you are next to each other, you are always touching in some way. Like now, you are leaning against him.” Miya eyes the way Reki’s body is almost slanting against Langa, even though both of them are still sweating hard from the short race they just finished.

“Oh!” Reki shoots away from Langa’s side immediately. He doesn’t realize he is indeed leaning against Langa. He sits next to Langa in class, eats lunch with Langa, and spends almost all his free time after school with Langa. Reki is so used to be next to the boy pretty much all the time he doesn’t really feel the physical distance between them sometimes.

“Sorry about that Langa! I didn’t mean it. Must be uncomfortable right?” Reki looks back at Langa and apologizes.

“It’s alright. I didn’t really notice.” Langa shrugs.

Miya shakes his head, “if I didn’t know better, I would think the two of you are dating or something.”

“WHAT?”

Reki feels heat rising on his cheeks. He knows he is very affectionate towards his family and friends. He connects with people by touching them, even with Miya. After Miya's loss to Langa, Reki realized how vulnerable the younger boy truly is so he grabbed him by the neck and took him under his wing. Miya has been spending a lot of time with them on the skate ground, and he knows the two of them pretty well by now. He is familiar with the way Reki touches people, so why would he say such a thing about him and Langa?

“Why would you say that? What did I do?”

“Like I said, you are always touching each other."

“But I touch you too! All the time!”

“It’s different, and I keep telling you to stop.”

“How is that different? I’m just fooling around.”

“You should figure that out yourself, dummy.”

Reki is struck silent. He never puts much thought into the way he touches people. At home, his mom is always kissing and hugging everyone. His sisters, especially the youngest ones, are always grabbing him by his waist or pinching whatever parts of his body they could reach. At school, he is always high-fiving or fist-bumping his friends, and sometimes he fools around with them by messing up their hair or pulling their collars. He assumes he does similar things with Langa, maybe a bit more often because they are always together, but he doesn’t think anything he does is out of the ordinary. He turns his eyes and looks at Langa, hoping to gain some supportive comments from him, but Langa just continues to sip his drink as if he has nothing to do with what Miya just said.

The conversation ends because Shadow shows up right before Reki can think of anything to say, and the four of them decide to start another race.

But Miya’s words remained at the back of Reki’s mind.

* * *

Hasegawa Langa was born and raised in Canada, so he is very familiar with the way North Americans express their affections through physical contact.

He saw how his parents would sneak kisses when they thought he wasn’t looking. He saw how young couples in his high school would hold hands everywhere they go and shamelessly make out under the staircase. He saw people hugging and kissing each other’s cheeks when he went to church sometimes. His dad would kiss him on the cheeks whenever he achieved another great flip and hug him close when he was feeling down. His mom, despite him being almost 18, would still kiss him on the forehead when they say goodnight every day.

So when Kyan Reki jumped on him after his first skateboard race and first victory, Langa didn’t think much of it.

The two of them become friends almost instantly after Langa picked Reki’s skateboard up that one fateful afternoon; their friendship escalated exponentially as they learn, practice, and commit all their time and passion to skateboard. They meet up and go to school together, they sit next to each other in class, and they eat lunch together every day. After school, if they are not working together at the skate shop, they are on the skate ground learning new tricks.

Langa sees how physically affectionate Reki is. He would touch his arm to get his attention, poke him on the ribs if he starts to drift off when they are talking, ruffle his hair when he succeeds another trick, and hug him when he wins a race. To Langa, these touches are normal between close friends, not that he had any back home, but at least it didn’t really strike him as something out of the blue. He is not the type to pay much attention to his surroundings anyway. So he doesn’t notice anymore when they bump their faces together while watching the video Reki took of him on his phone; or when Reki’s fingers dance over the new scratch on his cheek so gentle it feels like being touched by a feather; or when they fall asleep on each other after eating lunch on the school rooftop, heads touching.

What he does notice though, is when Reki all of a sudden starts to stop himself from touching him.

It is a normal night at the S race. Langa defeats another challenger with a beautiful rotation in the air and the finish line is crowded with an audience cheering his name. He sees Reki’s red hair swimming through the crowd towards him, and he prepares himself for another full-body tackle from the redhead like usual. What he doesn’t expect to see though, is how Reki, with his arms raised in midair, comes to an abrupt stop just a few inches before him, the big smile on his face freezes for a second; then he lowers his arms, only raising his right hand in a fist that signals the fist-bump thing they always do. Langa looks at Reki’s fist, confused but still extends his own hand to finish the fist-bump. Before he can ask Reki what’s wrong, Langa is ambushed by a heavy slap on the back from Shadow and Miya follows with snarky comments on some moves he was doing during the race. The night ends with the four of them celebrating Langa’s victory at their favourite ramen place, and the thought of asking quickly escapes Langa’s mind.

* * *

The next time Langa feels something is not right is when the two of them are eating lunch on their usual spot on the school rooftop. Langa munches on his store-bought sandwich and watches as Reki unwraps his “impressive” Japanese bento box. In today’s bento box, Reki’s mom made him something Langa has never seen before, so he points it out and asks what it is.

“It’s _mimigaa_ (pig’s ear), have you never had it before?”

“No, at least not that I know of.”

“You want a bite?”

Reki picks a piece up and extends the chopsticks towards Langa like the numerous times he has done before. Langa is always very intrigued by his homemade Japanese food so Reki always feeds him whatever it is of interest.

Langa shifts his body closer to Reki, ready to take the offered bite off the chopsticks like he always does. Before his opened mouth can reach the chopsticks, Reki suddenly retracts and the food drops back into his bento box.

“Reki?”

“Ah! Sorry!” Reki hastily says, “You know how to use chopsticks right? Here, pick whatever piece you like!”

Langa looks down at the chopsticks Reki hands over, then looks back up at his face. Reki’s cheeks are in a light shade of pink, and he can see a small drop of sweat rolling down his hairline. His eyes are a little shifty as if trying hard to not look back at Langa’s questioning face. Langa takes over the chopsticks and picks up a piece of the food. As he is putting it into his mouth, he can see out of the corner of his eye that Reki is staring at him. As he chews and decides that he likes the taste of it, he can see Reki gulping. Does Reki like the food so much he actually doesn’t want to share it? Maybe I shouldn’t have taken a bite? But he offered though? Langa puzzles.

Their lunch carries on with a thread of tension in the air. After they are done with their food, Reki blurts out an excuse and quickly runs off without looking back at Langa. What was that about? Langa wonders. He has never seen Reki run off before the bell rings. Didn’t he say so this morning that he wanted to catch up on some sleep in the sun after lunch because he was staying up too late last night?

After the lunch incident, Langa concludes that something is up. Normally Langa doesn’t really care about how people react to him, but this is Reki, and Langa doesn’t want to upset his best friend in any possible way. His mom always tells him how Japanese people are more reserved, and they are not likely to express discomfort even with their friends; he needs to be more aware of his actions in case he accidentally offends someone. Reki has been more than patient and understanding of his social awkwardness and lack of expression. He has brought Langa into a brand new world of skateboarding and given him a new kind of freedom he could have never dreamt of. As emotionally detached as Langa is, Reki is the last person in this world he wants to hurt unintentionally. If this means he needs to pay more attention to Reki and figure out what is causing this sudden change of attitude in his best friend, he most definitely will.


	2. Chapter Two

Kyan Reki is in the middle of the biggest crisis he has ever had.

It all started with Miya’s comment about Reki and Langa being way too close. Reki didn’t dwell too much on it when the conversation stopped and they began another race, but once he gets home and plops down on his bed after taking a shower, Miya’s words come rushing back, filling up every single corner of his mind.

Granted, Reki knows he is a bit more physically affectionate than general with the people he cares about. He grew up sharing tight quarters with a big family, so he is used to being in constant close proximity with other human bodies. He gets that he spends almost all his waking hours with Langa, therefore it’s only natural for him to become physically close to the other boy. Why would Miya think they are getting too close? Is it the way they are acting around each other? Or is it the way Reki touches Langa? What could it possibly be that Miya feels others might think they are dating?

Reki thinks back on his usual interactions with Langa. Sure, Reki has seen couples in school and the way they seem to be glued to each other’s sides and are constantly all over each other. He doesn’t understand how their interactions would parallel that level of intimacy.

“Reki, are you still up?”

Reki’s thoughts are interrupted when Tsukihi*, the older one of his little sisters, pokes her head into his room.

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“Mom wants to know if you are fine with buying lunch tomorrow. She needs to head out super early for the neighbourhood meeting, so she won’t have enough time to make us bento in the morning.”

“Oh, yeah that’s fine. Thanks.” Reki replies mindlessly.

As Tsukihi disappears from the door frame. Reki jumps up and stops her.

“Wait! I… Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah? What is it?”

“Do you think I’m too physical with my friends?”

“What do you mean?”

“Eh… like… Maybe I touch people too much?”

She stops and stares at Reki for a full second. “You only realize that now?”

“Wha… what do you mean?”

“Well,” She comes into his room and sits down by his desk, legs and arms crossed. “You always hug people randomly, stranger or not, and you always pat my head and mess up my hair when I tell you not to. It’s a bit annoying, to be honest.”

“Oh… you think my touches are annoying?” Reki looks down at his hands, a little crushed.

“Yes… and… no…”, stutters Tsukihi, little pink on the cheeks. “Just annoying when you don’t stop even though I tell you to.”

“Why are you asking this, by the way?”

“Miya said I’m being too close to Langa, people might think we are dating or something.”

“Langa? You mean the blue hair guy you bring home all the time?”

“Yes?”

“Are you not?”

“Not what?”

“Dating?”

“What?! NO!!” shrieks Reki, “We are best friends!”

“OK,” Tsukihi contemplates for a moment. She has only seen Langa a handful of times in passing when he comes over. The two boys spend most of their time either in Reki’s room or in the garage. She has brought drinks into Reki’s room for them once; they were sitting on Reki’s bed, sides plastered together as they fully immerse themselves in the videos on Reki’s phone, and didn’t even hear her come in. However, knowing her big brother the way he is, Tsukihi just shrugs, “If you are best friends, why do you care what other people say about you?”

Reki considers for a bit. She has a point, but still, “I don’t care what people say about me, but I don’t want to cause Langa any trouble or inconvenience.”

“Why would this cause him trouble?”

“Well, you see, Langa might seem to be in a daze all the time, but he is very popular among the ladies. Everyone calls him ‘the prince’! What if a girl likes him and wants to date him? I don’t want to be the reason why Langa can’t get a girlfriend.”

“That’s easy then,” Tsukihi stands up and heads out of the room, “If you don’t want others to have the wrong idea, just stop touching him, especially in public, then problem solved!”

* * *

Reki did not expect how hard it can actually be to stop touching someone, especially Langa.

The fist-bump ritual doesn’t count, since it is their way of saying hello and other guys do it too. It is the smaller things Reki finds hard to stop. On their way to the school cafeteria, Reki automatically reaches out to grab Langa by the waist when his friend is once again lost in thought and is about to hit another wall. Reki remembers Tsukihi’s words suddenly and stops himself, but he doesn’t react quick enough and watches as Langa bumps his head against the wall with a loud “PANG!”

“Oh my god! Langa kun are you alright?” a girl from their class rushes to Langa’s side and asks worriedly.

“I’m fine,” Langa blinks, “thanks.” He adds.

“That’s good! Please be careful!” the girl giggles and runs off to her friends who are watching from afar.

See! I was right! Langa must have so many secret admirers waiting for a chance to talk to him. I can’t let my habits get in his way. Reki reassures himself.

From then on, Reki makes a point of stopping and thinking through before his bad habits take over again. He calls Langa’s name out loud when he needs his attention instead of brushing his arm or embracing his shoulder. He fights the urge to ruffle Langa’s hair when he masters the new trick they have been practicing for weeks. He tries not to touch Langa’s skin as much as possible when he is wrapping a band-aid around his friend's injured finger. And he sits at least 2 feet away from Langa when they are eating lunch on the school rooftop. 

By the third day, Reki is, quite frankly, pretty exhausted.

Much to his surprise, what exhausts him the most is not the fight against his subconscious to reach out, but the warmth he is missing from those small touches. Langa is not the type to show emotions openly on his face, but whenever they are together, Reki gets to see the small smile hiding behind Langa’s beautiful blue eyes when he touches him. Langa is also not shy from touching Reki back. He would squeeze back at Reki’s hand as a thank-you for preventing him from another head bump against the wall. He would curl his finger against Reki’s after he is done being patched up. When they sit snugly next to each other on the rooftop, the constant radiance of Langa’s body heat seeping through their uniforms somehow puts Reki’s ever-twirling mind at rest. 

If it is Langa’s happiness (or so Reki thinks) on the line though, everything would all be worth it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * I watch the anime with Chinese subtitles so I don't know what the proper pronunciation for Reki's sister's name is. I'm going with what Googles is telling me. I will change it once we hear it in the anime. 
> 
> Thank you for all your kind words! I'm overwhelmed with joy and I might have cried a little. 
> 
> This story is now writing itself. It's getting longer and longer, and I don't know how many chapters it will actually take to finish. I did not expect this to be so hard, and I'm paying my utmost respect to all the writers out there, pro or amateur, for gifting us with your wisdom and creativity.


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: minor Joe/Cherry in this chapter

Chinen Miya, the 13-year-old national team rep candidate, also the youngest of the little skater group they have formed, has no doubt that he is the only sane and rational one out of them all.

Shadow during the day is reasonably responsible and innocent in a way, but he turns into a screaming five-year-old as soon as he puts on his mask (make-up?) and jumps on his skateboard.

Joe’s two sides don’t seem that much different from one another. He is through and through a muscled gorilla that flirts with anything on two legs and has a weird aversion to proper attire.

Cherry Blossom may seem like a cool grown-up, but Miya knows way too well that he throws all calculations and logic out of the window whenever he is in the same room with Joe. Not even Carla can help with the drastic decrease in his sanity level and mental age at this point.

Reki and Langa, on the other hand, are a whole other story.

Miya is grateful to have Reki now by his side, not that he will ever admit it to anyone. After the heartbreak he experienced with his former skateboarding buddies, Miya had a time when he didn’t believe in friendship of any sort anymore. He was fully prepared to go on with his professional skateboarding career on his own. After all, heroes always fight the big bosses by themselves at the end.

As he gets to know Reki and Langa more through their various skateboarding rendezvous, Miya can’t help but notice the way the two older boys interact with each other. As if they live within their own little bubble, and they communicate in a language only the two of them would understand. Reki is affectionate towards Miya, unquestionably, but he touches Miya like he is touching a younger brother, pinching his cheeks or pulling the tail on his hoodie. The way Reki holds Langa’s shoulder or whole-heartedly tackles him, however, there is a whiff of intimacy Miya doesn’t sense when Reki touches other people.

But when Miya speaks his mind to them, he does not expect such a big reaction from Reki.

He makes the dating comment because he is a sarcastic little devil, but he mostly says it as a joke to rile Reki up like he always does. As predicted, Langa doesn’t flinch one bit when Reki pulls away, but Miya doesn’t miss the flash of disappointment that flickered across Langa’s poker face.

The conversation is over when Shadow shows up, and Miya quickly shoves it out of his mind. But when he next sees the two older boys at the S practice ground, Miya immediately detects something is up with the two.

“Did you two get into a fight?” Miya walks over to Langa, who is attentively watching Reki practicing a trick with Joe a few feet away.

It takes Langa a couple of breaths to process what Miya is asking, “No,” he looks down at the ground, left-hand fidgets with the top wheel on his skateboard, “but I think I did something wrong.”

“Huh,” Miya is pleasantly surprised, he has never seen Langa looking so defeated, “why do you think that?”

“Reki has started to keep his distance from me,”

“And?”

“and he is trying very hard not to touch me in any way, as if it repulses him,” says Langa in a near whisper.

Miya’s fingers stop moving on his Switch, a big “you lose” sign pops up right away.

“Have you talked to him about this?”

“No, not yet.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know how, and I want to figure out what I did wrong first so I can apologize.”

Miya lets out a big sigh and puts his Switch back into his pocket. “I can’t believe this. He really is a dummy.”

“Miya?”

“Just talk to him, Langa, because Reki is dumb and likes to make himself suffer pointlessly.” Miya steps on his skateboard, “Better do it sooner than later! I don’t want to be caught in the middle of a parental fight again!” His voice dwindles as he skates away, leaving Langa stewing in his own thoughts by himself.

* * *

Joe can’t figure out exactly when his restaurant has become the official headquarters for their skater group, but he is a nice guy and a generous _senpai_ , so he just lets it be.

It is a normal sunny afternoon, an hour before the restaurant is open for dinner. Joe is putting out the blackboard filled with today’s special on it when he spots a splash of red peeking around the corner of his store.

“Hey kid! What are you doing here?” Joe calls out before said kid is about to turn and run away.

“Hi Joe! Erh… good to see you?” Reki stutters, hugging his skateboard tightly against his chest.

“You are a bit early if you are here for dinner,” Joe laughs, “if not, I can offer you a glass of juice if you like?”

Reki looks like his mind is in a heated debate over something, but his face turns serious after a second, “yes please, I’m very thirsty.” He follows Joe back into the restaurant, and to his surprise, Reki sees a very familiar pink-haired figure sitting in front of the counter.

“Cherry?”

Cherry turns around in his chair, a little startled, “Reki? What are you doing here at this hour?”

“I could ask you the same thing! Isn’t the restaurant not opened yet?”

“I-” “He always comes in regardless of my business hour, such a pain in the ass!” Joe interrupts before Cherry can respond.

“Hey! You were the one who asked me to stay and be your taste tester! I came here during lunch hour like a normal customer, stupid gorilla!”

“But last night you came in after closing again and drank a whole bottle of the most expensive white wine I had. You didn’t even pay! Cheapskate four-eye!”

“You brought out the wine yourself! I didn’t ask for it!”

Reki watches the two adults engage in another round of kicking and wrestling, a weird sense of yearning rises within. When was the last time he and Langa fooled around like this?

The two adults eventually stop bickering. Joe clears his throat, “take a seat kid, I will be right back.” and disappears behind the kitchen door. Reki sits down beside Cherry by the counter, and he sees there is a plate of some fancy dessert thing in front of the older man.

“How long have you two known each other, Cherry?”

“Too long,” snickers Cherry, “We met when we were little kids. Kojiro’s family moved in next door to my childhood home.”

“You’ve been together ever since right? Must be nice.”

“Not at all! Such a nightmare to be in the same class with that primitive animal from kindergarten all the way through high school! I do not want to live through that again.”

“But you two seen so close! Aren’t you best friends?”

Cherry’s expression softens a little, “If you count fighting and arguing every two seconds as being best friends, I guess we are.”

Joe re-emerges with a glass of cold drink for Reki. Cherry’s face immediately straightens and he stuffs a forkful of dessert into his mouth. 

“This is way too sour! Did you mistake vinegar for honey or something, dumbass?”

“It’s a lemon cake, your highness. It’s supposed to be sour.” Joe shakes his head fondly and places the glass down in front of Reki. Then he looks over to Cherry and reaches out a thumb. Reki feels his whole body tighten as Joe causally wipes away drops of whipped cream from the curve of Cherry’s upper lip.

“If you really hate it so much, Kaoru, stop eating it and smearing whipped cream everywhere like a baby.” Joe draws back his thumb, then licks it clean with his tongue, “You are right though, I should hold back on the lemon zest.”

Cherry just huffs and continues to eat the cake. Reki stares at the two, dumbfounded.

“What’s wrong kid? Didn’t you say you were very thirsty?” Joe leans over the countertop cross-armed with his chin resting on one palm and eyes the untouched drink he has made for Reki.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Shoot.”

“It’s normal to touch your best friend like this, right?”

The two older men turn and look at Reki at the same time. “What do you mean?” asks Joe.

“The thing you just did, it’s normal between best friends, right?”

Cherry blinks, deep blush blooms over his face. Joe doesn’t seem to get Reki’s question, however; Cherry slaps his arm with the paper fan he always carries.

“Ouch! Kaoru! What was that for?!” Joe yelps. He clutches Cherry’s wrist to stop him from another slap.

“Stop calling me by that name! you big oaf!” Cherry stands up abruptly, almost knocking his chair over, “I have to head back to work, goodbye!”

Cherry rushes out before the other two can say anything. The loud bang of the door closing behind him echoes in the quiet shop. 

“Well, don’t mind him. What were you asking?” Joe sighs loudly.

“The way you touch Cherry, it’s normal to do that to your best friend, right?” Reki twists the straw around in his glass, little bubbles bursting inside the liquid.

Joe ponders for a bit; realization finally hits him. “I don’t really pay attention to how I touch Kaoru. We’ve been together since we were little babies. It has become a natural reflex, I suppose.” 

“Why, did it seem inappropriate to you?” Joe adds. 

“No,” Reki recalls the faint smile on Langa’s face when he wiped away the ranch sauce smeared on the other boy’s cheek after he finished his fifth burger. A small smile finds its way back onto Reki’s face.

“Then why are you asking?”

“Miya told me I’m being too close to Langa, others might mistake us for a couple,” admits Reki hesitantly. “I have been trying to stop myself from touching Langa too much.”

Joe’s hearty laugh startles Reki. “So, this is what’s been bugging you so much you needed my rescue?”

“I don’t need any rescue! I’m just curious!” Reki feels his ears are burning. “I thought maybe you would have some insights since you and Cherry are so close and all.”

“Sorry sorry! I’m not laughing at you.” Joe tries his best to contain his laughter. “I just envy how young and innocent you are, that’s all.”

“Reki, it doesn’t matter how other people see you. As long as you two enjoy the way you treat each other, that’s what matters.” Joe pours himself a glass of water, “why does it bother you that people might think you two are dating?” he follows after a heartbeat.

Reki lowers his head, “Langa is very popular in school. I’m sure a lot of girls want to date him. I don’t want people to have the wrong idea and get in the way of him finding his true love.”

“You know, back in high school people also thought Kaoru and I were dating.”

“Really?”

“Yes, and Kaoru beat every single one of them up when someone dared to say that in front of us. It was kind of funny, actually.”

“Cherry? Beating people up?” Reki’s eyes are filled with disbelief. He can’t picture how Cherry, the elegant, yukata-wearing calligrapher would use violence on someone other than Joe.

“Oh yeah, Kaoru used to be a feisty little badass. He had so many piercings I thought he was going to die from all the infections.” 

“Wow… I would never have imagined Cherry being like this.” Reki has a different level of respect for Cherry now. “What about you? Did you beat people up too when they say that to you?”

“I didn’t really care, honestly. I knew they were just joking, so I didn’t take it to heart. I still don’t know why Kaoru was so offended by it though. It didn’t stop the girls from cramming love letters and hand-made chocolates into our shoe lockers every Valentine’s day.” Joe shrugs his ridiculously big shoulders as the image of a 17-year-old, overly pierced Kaoru reappears in his mind.

“The point is, if a girl is truly in love with Langa, a little misinterpretation from random strangers won’t stop her from confessing. She would understand that you are just a really good friend and appreciate you as much as Langa does. Rumours can’t stop true love.”

“Don’t beat yourself up over this, Reki,” Joe walks to the door and flips the ‘closed’ sign over to ‘open’, “At least talk to Langa and ask how he feels about this first. You don’t want your best friend to feel left out, do you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your encouragement! Your support gives me the strength to continue writing. I can't express how much I appreciate every single feedback. It takes me a long time to update because I don't have a beta and it is quite difficult to edit your own writing, so thank you for your patience!


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have incorporated the conversation between Langa and his mom into this chapter by changing and adding a few bits. I started writing this chapter before watching ep.8 so I was pleasantly surprised to see Canon is actually helping me write my story.
> 
> Honestly, I'm not completely happy with this chapter, but man do I need to have something to cheer myself up after watching ep.9. I hope this chapter can make you feel better, even just a little bit.
> 
> Also, my heart goes out to my fellow Cherry fans. I was screaming so hard the entire day and I believe God is telling me to write something dedicated to Joe/Cherry.

Nanako is sneaking nervous glances at her son as the two of them eat dinner in silence. She has been extremely worried about her only child ever since the day they landed in Okinawa, and she is only recently able to rest her mind a little knowing that he has found a new friend and a new hobby. However, she can tell something is bothering him for the past couple of days, but she is not sure how to broach the subject without sounding like an over-protective mother.

“Mom,” Langa breaks the silence all of a sudden, “dinner is great, thanks.”

“You are welcome! I got this new recipe from my colleague. She promised it would be delicious. I must thank her…” Nanako smiles, but her words come to a stop when she sees the look on Langa’s face. He looks conflicted, as if debating whether he can ask her something or not.

Nanako begins to panic. She has never been very good at reading him. It had always been her husband, Oliver, to sense the emotional turbulence in their son and comfort him in his own way. She prays silently to Oliver, hoping to gain some strength.

“I believe I’ve messed up, somehow.” Langa finally says, sounding helpless, “ ** _I have been avoided*_** , I think.”

Nanako feels like she can breathe again. “It happens sometimes, I had similar experiences too.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Even though you might not have done anything wrong, it is easy to let the distance take over and make you drift apart further.”

“I’m sure I must have done something wrong, but I just don’t know what it is, and I can’t for the life of me figure it out.”

Langa’s face is clouded with regret and confusion, somehow it makes Nanako feel a little calmer.

“In that case, I believe it is best to be honest with yourself.”

“Be honest with myself?”

“You like that person, don’t you?”

“Eh?!” Langa almost drops his chopsticks. A million things flash through his mind all at once, but at the bottom of his heart, he knows she’s right. “Yeah…” he nods.

“Tell that person how you truly feel then.”

“But that’s embarrassing!” Langa shifts uneasily in his chair.

“If she is that important to you, be a man and just go for it!” Nanako puts her food down and gives her son a big thumbs up, just the way Oliver used to do.

“She?” Langa tilts his head.

“You are talking about a girl you have a crush on, no?” Nanako stares back at Langa, eyes wide.

“I’m talking about Reki, my best friend.”

“Oh! Oops?” Nanako wants to dig a hole in the ground and jump in. “You admitted you like that person, so I assumed that you felt like you have upset your crush somehow and she had been avoiding you."

“Reki _has_ been avoiding me.” Langa sighs, “I don’t talk to any girls.”

“Ok…” Nanako picks her rice bowl back up, “This Reki person, is the one you have been hanging out with, right?”

“Yes, he is the one who taught me how to skateboard.”

“Why do you feel that he has been avoiding you?”

“We still hang out every day, but I can tell he is keeping his distance from me, and something has been bothering him. He hasn’t said anything to me though, so I must have done something wrong and he doesn’t feel comfortable bringing it up.”

“Also,” Langa adds a moment later, “He doesn’t want to have any physical contact with me at all as if my touches hurt him.” Langa thinks back on how today, after school at the skate park, Langa saw Reki had rubbed some dirt onto his face while working on Langa’ skateboard, so he reached out and brushed a thumb over the smudge to clean it off. The moment Langa’s finger touched his face, Reki shuddered as if struck by lightning, eyes so wide Langa thought they might pop out, and he pushed away Langa’s hand so hard he almost lost balance. Both of them were stunned; before Langa could react, Reki shoved the skateboard into Langa’s arms and stepped away with a muffled apology. Soon after, Reki threw an excuse at him and ran home without saying goodbye. 

Nanako is very surprised. From the bits and pieces she has been getting from Langa about Reki, she knows the two of them have developed a deep bond in an incredibly short period of time. She hasn’t met him yet, but she already has a clear image of a red-haired, energetic high school boy with the biggest heart and the brightest smile on his face. She finds it hard to understand why this boy would reject Langa’s touches after all this time and try to keep his distance without breaking off their friendship.

“I stand by my point though, my dear. I think you should tell him how you truly feel.”

“You don’t think he will just tell me to piss off and stop being my friend?”

“I have enough confidence in both you and him that you two will work this out.” Nanako encourages him, “After all, he is important to you, right?”

Langa looks down at the hand that Reki had pushed away earlier. Determination fills up inside his chest.

* * *

Reki wants to follow Joe’s suggestion, but it is easier said than done.

How do you ask your best friend if he doesn’t mind being touched all the time and occasionally being mistaken for a couple by others, without sounding like an idiot?

He has been stressing over this for way too long, Reki thinks, not to mention he had overreacted like a maniac the other day when Langa touched his face. He almost pushed the poor guy onto the ground, for god’s sake.

I will talk to him today! Reki tells himself as he skates towards their usual meet-up spot on their way to school. As soon as he sees the blue-haired boy waving at him with that gleam in his eyes, Reki mentally backs down and decides he can wait until lunch.

Once they arrive at school, the boys open their respective shoe lockers to change into their room shoes. A pink envelop falls out of Langa’s locker.

“What’s wrong?” After changing, Reki turns and sees Langa standing still in front of his locker, one hand still holding his running shoes.

“This fell out of my locker.” Langa shows the pink envelope to Reki. A big “To Langa Kun” is written on the surface in a neat and elegant handwriting. Reki can feel all the air inside his lungs rushing out.

“Oh! This is… this is a love letter! Congratulations man!” Reki forces out a smile. “No one ever wrote me a love letter before! I’m so jealous!”

There is no signature on the envelope. Langa can only find out who wrote the letter by opening and reading it. Not that he is curious to know who has a crush on him, Langa merely wants to return the letter and apologize to the person because he is not interested. The bell rings before he can open it, so Langa puts the envelope into his jacket pocket and goes to class.

The entire morning goes by without any sign of Langa opening that letter, which has lit a fire under Reki’s bottom. As soon as the last class ends and lunch starts, Reki can’t stop himself from asking if Langa has read the letter. 

“I haven’t opened it yet, almost forgot about it.”

“Open it now! Let’s see who it’s from!”

“Fine.” Langa opens the envelope under Reki’s scrutinizing gaze. “This person didn’t say their name. They just asked me to meet them behind the gym at lunch.”

“At lunch? That’s like now!” Reki jumps out of his seat, “You better go there right away!”

“Do I have to?” Langa, honest to god, pouts.

“Yes! This person is being brave. You should respect that by showing up!” Reki wants to pull Langa out of his chair and drag him out of the door, but he kicks his left foot instead. “I can go with you if you are sacred.”

“I’m not scared!” Langa whines, “Fine, if you are that curious, let’s go.”

The two boys walk over to the school gym. There is a small empty field behind the building, and it has become known as the “confession sanctum” because apparently, everyone in this school has decided this location is perfect for confessions, including the teachers, according to a popular rumour.

There is a girl the two of them don’t recognize standing under the shade provided by the gym rooftop. She perks up when she sees the two boys walking towards her, so she must be the author of that mystery letter. She is a little shorter than Reki, with long black hair neatly braided into two strands of French braids on each side of her head. She smiles when Langa stops in front of her, small dimples visible on her cheeks.

Reki keeps a few feet away from the two to give them some privacy. He can’t hear clearly what they are saying, but he can see the girl’s face turning red as she is nervously trying to convey her feelings into words. Langa has his back towards him so he can’t see his face, but Reki is sure his friend’s face remains blank as he listens to the girl. After god knows how long, Reki sees his friend is turning away from the girl, so he starts to walk towards him.

“Wait!” the girl shouts, then she clutches Langa’s right hand, tears in her eyes, “Please! Just once! Can you give me a hug? Just once so I can move on?”

Reki stops dead in his tracks. Did she just ask Langa to hug her?

Langa looks down at their joined hands. Her hand is much smaller compared to his, and her skin feels cool against his own. He feels like he has been pinched by small needles, and his mind is screaming at him to shove her hand away. He tries to pull away from her iron grip, but he sees the tears in her eyes, not sure what he should do next.

“Please Langa kun, just once, please just hug me once. I promise I will never bother you again!”

Langa hesitantly nods and slowly opens his arms. One hug doesn’t hurt, right?

The girl crashes herself into Langa’s body and holds tightly onto the back of his uniform jacket. Langa’s arms remained at his sides, not wanting to touch the girl in any way. Reki watches the scene unfold and feels something has exploded before his eyes, leaving him dizzy.

The (one-sided) hug lasts for about a minute, but Langa feels like it must have been three years. When the girl finally releases him, her tears have left a small water stain on the front of Langa’s jacket. After she bows and runs away, Langa lets out a big breath he doesn’t know he has been holding and looks over to his friend.

“Reki?”

Reki is a couple of steps away from him, his face unclear under the shadow cast by the midday sun. Langa quickly closes the distance between them, concerned, “What’s wrong?”

“Why did you hug her?” Reki mumbles.

“She said she will never bother me again if I give her one hug.”

“You could have just said no!”

“She was crying. It would be easier to just give her what she wanted.”

“What if she got the wrong idea?” Reki raises his voice, body shaking, “You rejected her, right? What if she thought she still had a chance because you hugged her?”

“Reki, why are you so upset? It was just a hug! You hugged me all the time too.”

“That’s different!” Reki is almost yelling now, but his voice immediately dies in his throat. Miya’s words from that day replay in his mind.

“Reki, please tell me why you have been acting weird lately.” Langa bends his head a little, blue eyes piercing through golden amber. “Did I do something wrong?”

“What? No! Why would you say that?”

“I can feel you have been keeping your distance,” he furrows his brows, “and you are avoiding body contacts with me as if I’d hurt you.”

Reki gasps. “What gave you that idea?!” then he remembers the incident from before. “It was an accident!”

“Not just from the other day,” Langa continues, looking like a lost puppy, “You sit so far away from me at lunch, and you have stopped hugging me.”

His statement renders Reki speechless; he has never seen Langa so bewildered before. His friend is always so insensitive to his surroundings that Reki thought he wouldn’t even notice the small touches Reki has been avoiding. He somehow feels the knot in the pit of his stomach unraveling.

“Langa, you didn’t do anything wrong.” Reki looks into Langa’s eyes earnestly, “You are right, I have been trying to not touch you so much, but it was not because you upset me or anything like that.”

“Then what is it?” A glimmer of hope appears on Langa’s face.

“Do you remember what Miya had said to us the other day? At the skate park?”

“Not really, what did Miya say?”

“He said I’m being too close to you; people might think we are dating.” Reki scratches the back of his neck. “My sister said the best way is to just stop touching you, so people won’t get the wrong idea.”

Langa doesn’t know how to react. He doesn’t recall having such conversation with Miya at all, and he doesn’t get why Reki would take it so seriously.

“Why does it matter if people think we are dating?” Langa is genuinely confused, “Why would people think that anyway?”

“Beats me! But the point is, I don’t want this misunderstanding to get in the way between you and your future girlfriend, so I thought it doesn’t hurt to hold back.”

“My future girlfriend? Who are you talking about?”

“Well, potential future girlfriend? You know you are popular, right? There will be other love letters and one of them will be your true love.”

“I’m not interested in any of them,” deadpans Langa, “and I don’t see how our relationship should be affected by a non-existent, hypothetical person.”

“You don’t mind then?” Reki asks carefully.

“Mind what?”

“The way I touch you?” Reki hesitates for a second, “You don’t mind if people would sometimes mistake us for a couple?”

“I don’t care what people think of us.” Reki can see the clear determination in the blue hues, “I just want you to be yourself. Whatever makes you happy, is what matters to me the most.”

Reki can’t help chuckling; he really is a dummy. “What, were you lonely because you missed my hugs?”

“Yes.” Langa admits without missing a beat, “Please don’t ever do that again.”

Reki extends his arms to draw Langa towards him. His hands find their way behind the taller boy and bring down his head into the crook of his neck. Reki can feel Langa’s long arms spreading behind his back instantly, enclosing their bodies into a tight embrace. Blue curls at Langa’s nape tickle Reki’s skin and a hint of Langa’s shampoo fills up his nostril.

“I’m sorry for making you worry,” Reki whispers beside Langa’s ear. He didn’t realize how much he had missed the feeling of Langa’s chest flush against his.

Langa feels like he has finally come home after a long journey in the endless night. He relaxes his muscles and lets himself sink into the dearly missed hug from his best friend. He can hear their heartbeats syncing into a steady rhythm; Reki’s familiar body heat warming up a part of his heart he doesn’t know existed.

The two boys stay like this for a while, only let go of each other when the school bell rings. Neither says anything; they exchange a smile and walk back to class side by side, arms touching.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I have been avoided"*: the original Japanese word Langa used here was "saketeru", which can also be used to describe physically avoiding someone or avoiding body contacts. It was actually very fitting for what he would be asking his mom in my setting.
> 
> I watch this anime with Chinese subtitles and I do understand Japanese as well, so the mother-son dialogue in this chapter comes from my own understanding of their conversation. If you feel the translation is off from the English dub, that's purely on me. 
> 
> Chapter Five might take a few more days because ep.9 just threw me off and I might have to rewrite the whole thing. I just need some time to recover from seeing my Cherry getting hurt. If you would like to chat about Sk8, feel free to find me on Tumblr or Twitter under the same ID.


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